Jaymes

For me, the two most important words in this scenario are "forty minutes." Think about that. Forty minutes. Had this entire incident occurred over, say, ten or fifteen minutes, I'd be firmly on the side of the mother. But forty minutes? Sorry, but this mother is totally to blame for "traumatizing" her child. I raised three children and, at one point, each of them was an infant, baby, toddler, whatever, sometimes in great moods, and sometimes not. I can't imagine letting them disrupt other people for that long. I'd have given my crying child maybe ten minutes in this restaurant before I would have asked for our order "to go" and l would have taken it and left. The fact that the owner had to say anything at all tells you how inconsiderate and self-absorbed that woman must be. I'm sure that, at the five minute point, the other patrons were glaring at her to do something. By thirty minutes, I'd bet a lot of money that some of the other patrons had left. The woman had many options as to what to do and chose to do nothing but sit there and let other people bear the brunt. The owner was exasperated at the position into which this woman placed her, and I would have been, too. As far as "cursing at a 2-year-old" goes, nowhere is there any indication that the owner was using profanity directed at the child. Certainly true that, in her FB response, the owner did resort to that sort of gutter language, so I suppose it's possible that she directed some at the child, but I read the mother's account, and she didn't mention profanity, which I believe she certainly would have, had it happened. And, speaking of profanity, anybody else here remember a time when folks had a great many "ing" adjectives we could use? Rather than just the one.

Very interesting. Think that might have been a Canadian version of what we folk south of you called a Fruit Tart. I made it a lot, primarily as a dessert for myriad ladies' functions - luncheons, coffees, teas, mahjong & bridge parties, assorted "advisory committee" meetings, etc. - and it was hugely popular, although I'm pretty sure it was the 70s, and maybe even later than that. I didn't buy anything as the base, however. It started with a giant sugar cookie crust. Then you mixed up a sweet cream-cheese concoction and spread it onto the cookie, arranged the fruit over, then a glaze. It was really good and I've made it often throughout the years. Sample recipe: http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/kelsey-nixon/sugar-cookie-crust-fruit-pizza.html

I remember Jell-O. Had a lot of it in assorted variations. Remember cubes of it interspersed with whipped cream in parfait glasses. Very common in congealed salads and family desserts. But I don't ever remember being served it as dessert at a nice dinner party. I sure never did. And I entertained, and was entertained, a LOT in those days.

A ubiquitous blast from the past. The fact that you even know about Grasshopper Pie ages you!

I think you're right - it was on the wrapper. I sure made it a lot. Might have been on the box of graham crackers as well.

Flambé anything was very fashionable: Crepes Suzette, Cherries Jubilee, Bananas Foster, etc. And you did see "Dump Cake" (although we called it "Panic") but that was mainly at informal gatherings like family reunions and church potlucks. I don't recall ever seeing it at anybody's "fancy dinner party." I do recall as that being kind of the beginning of the Red Velvet Cake heyday, and Harvey Wallbanger Cake came along about that time, too. Cheesecake was the default go-to, please everybody, "nice" dessert. But if this were my party, I'd definitely do the chocolate fondue. Everybody had fondue sets, most of which we received as wedding gifts, and if you weren't fonduing, you weren't nuttin'.

Yeah, I get that. But since I usually put the meat back into whatever is the finished dish - like chicken noodle soup, or pork green-chile stew - I figure it works out about the same in the end.

Wow, impressive.

Upon rereading this, it sounds like, after I roast the bones, I get another big stew pot and add fresh water/liquid and put in the bones to stew them. That would be just silly. Of course, I put the roasted bones right back into the same pot, and water/liquid, in which I have already been stewing.

Whatever is the protein from which I'm making stock - pork, beef, bone-in ham, lamb, veal, chicken, etc. - first I begin stewing it for about 15-30 minutes, or just until the meat is coming loose from the bone and it's easy to get off, but well before I've stewed the life out of the flavor and texture. Then I strip off as much of the meat as I can and put it somewhere (fridge or freezer) for safekeeping until I'm ready to use it. Now I prepare the bones, cartilage, etc., for stewing. First, I roast them. Then, I crack open whatever bones I can in order to expose the marrow. I put them into a large stockpot and add water or a little wine or whatever, and assorted aromatics, including whatever herbs or other seasonings I'm in the mood for, and stew the whole thing for as long as it takes to get it nice and rich and flavorful. I strain it, and it's really easy because I just dump the entire pot into the strainer. I squeeze the stuff left in the strainer as best I can in order to get as much of the flavorful stock out of it as I can. To this end, I also pour a little hot water (about a cup or so) over it. I don't mind adding the extra water at this stage because I'm going to continue to simmer and reduce it so the extra water doesn't matter. At this point, unless I require the broth right away, I continue to simmer the strained broth until it is very, very reduced and concentrated, and even thickening, whereupon I pour it into an old-fashioned ice cube tray and freeze it. When they're frozen, I put my stock/bouillon/base ice cubes into a heavy ziplock freezer bag and put them into the freezer where they await the moment that I will take out one (or two or whatever I need) of my stock ice cubes and put them into something that requires it. Not saying this is "right" but it's worked well for me for years and years and years.

Oh I will. Honestly never made sense to me. Which is probably why I never tried it.

I don't use a lot of flour so have room for it in the freezer. That way it never gets little visitors. And I can keep it forever without worrying. I remember hearing many years ago that if you store flour in glass/porcelain/china canisters, it won't go bad or get bugs. Haven't ever tried it. Don't know if it works.

I, also, welcome you. I'm not much of a modernist but you sound clever and imaginative and I'm sure you'll contribute in ways that don't involve any of the (admittedly marvelous) culinary toys. Where are you located?

I would definitely say that, with your background of both Spain and Germany, there's undoubtedly a whole lot we can learn from you. Or at least that I can learn from you. Would be interested in your observations as to how Spanish cuisine differs from German, and in what ways it's similar. And your favorite dishes to cook from each.

Anyone familiar with this cocktail?

I spent about six weeks in Morelia a couple of years ago and the family I stayed with had a lemon tree. They were very proud of it. They told me that a nursery in Morelia had special-ordered it for them. So I think you might check around. I'm sure you get to Moralia at least occasionally. As I recall, it's a fairly easy drive from Patzcuaro.

Have a friend that lives in Mexico. She managed to order a "limon verdad" from her local nursery. I suppose that's so obvious that you've tried it already, but just in case... I love Meyer lemons, and have always had a tree, and currently have a tree. But they are milder than true lemons, so if I were going to go through the trouble of smuggling in a lemon tree, think I'd go for real lemons.

I'm very intrigued. I'm sure I can find some at a local Chinese market and I'm going to give it a try.

You said you don't have much of a sweet tooth. Have you tried this stuff? You mention sarsaparilla. Does it taste at all like our root beer?

Thanks for starting this topic. I must say, the topic of Chinese desserts interests me. I, too, have heard "Chinese don't eat dessert" many times, but then you wander into a Chinese pastry shop, and fight your way through the egg custard tart scrum to the head of the line. I love those things. There are also other pastries on offer (I'll admit I've never much enjoyed moon cakes), but remember my years in Asia, and definitely recall being served sweets. Think that rather bland almond pudding showed up on dim sum carts, along with sweet bean paste sesame balls, maybe a macaroon-coconut-type square, and a few other things. Liuzhou, you may not have a sweet tooth, but you are clearly a keen observer of your current surroundings, and I'm very interested in what you have to say on this subject.

Actually been there, done that. Along with the Grand Prix of Macau. Good ol' days.

The most common "dessert" I was given while in China was probably a bowl of lychee nuts. Except at fancy parties, banquets, weddings. I know that Chinese are definitely not fond of overly-sweet elaborate Western-style desserts. But I do love Chinese pastries (especially those egg custard tarts), and I think it's an interesting subject. Albeit for another thread. And, Liuzhou, I am particularly interested in your experience regarding Chinese "sweets," as I am in all your posts. You are a wealth of information. Thanks.

Well, try it and report back. Also was told the Kroger store brand is still essentially the old Velveeta formula. The self-appointed "Velveeta expert" guiding me in my quest said that cheese has more calories than chemicals so the way to tell what you're getting is to compare the calories of the "new Velveeta" with the copycats. (Interesting to me that you found the pimento cheese on Ritz more dangerous than the leggy gal.)

Think I ate at plenty of "real Chinese restaurants" when I lived in Hong Kong. Also have traveled to Taiwan and Chinese mainland, and more than once, or even twice, or even thrice, eating the entire time. Perhaps we could discuss Chinese desserts in another thread. (There must be some reason why you have to take your life in your hands to work your way up to the head of the line for egg custard tarts at Golden Gate Bakery.) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_desserts But when I was thinking about sweet bean paste and an item one might reasonably enjoy as a dessert for the purposes of this thread, I was specifically thinking of these: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_deui

I've noticed that, over the last few years, the quality of Velveeta has gotten worse. Checked with the company and, sure enough, they've changed the formula, adding less dairy (ie, cheese) than before. So I've switched to Trader Joe's copycat: Clancy's Cheese Melt. I've also noticed that several of our local supermarkets' store brands still seem to be using the old Velveeta formula.